📑 Report – Taftan Visit to Assess Kitchen Gardening and Repair of Filtration Plant – 24–27 September 2025
“RBWRP visited Taftan in September 2025 to assess kitchen gardening initiatives and repair a community filtration plant, promoting water conservation, climate‑smart agriculture, and women’s empowerment in Balochistan.”
🎯 Purpose
- Assess household adoption of kitchen gardening practices.
- Monitor the functionality of the community filtration plant.
- Strengthen climate‑smart agriculture and water governance.
- Promote women’s leadership and participation in community resilience.
On 25th of September we visited Washab Eastern Mountains region dam, reportedly constructed by an unknown NGO. Also visited a rainwater harvesting site for assessment and paid an official visit to new site that is Killi Haroon. The community organization have 15 members in total, we and conducted a community meeting having 9 female community members. The total population of Killi Haroon is 200 having 12 households. Women’s source of income is livestock; each household have up to 6 sheep/goats. In Killi Haroon there is no business because the border area is sealed therefore, most people are doing labor on rich people (Sardar) lands including women. In return to women’s labor work, they get fodder for their livestock.
On 26th we visited Killi Naseebullah to look at the water problem, which was stated in my previous report dated: May 26, 2025 “Women suggested that if water is delivered to them at Killi Naseebullah by installing pipelines covering approximately a distance of 7 kilometers, then they can have quality water for use”. In addition to this in the community meeting we discussed about water filtration plant, and we need to take an estimate of repairing water filtration plant.
TA-RBWRP’s team of men and women in selected river sub basins sustainably and equitably manage scarce water and rangeland resources and make transition to low water use food systems.
👥 Participants
- RBWRP technical team and mobilizers.
- Local households, including women farmers.
- District water governance and agriculture officers.
- Civil society and partner organizations.
🔬 Observations
- Kitchen gardening plots included tomato, cucumber, spinach, and seasonal vegetables.
- Farmers reported improved yield using drip irrigation and composting techniques.
- Women actively engaged in nursery raising and transplanting seedlings.
- Filtration plant required urgent repair to ensure safe drinking water supply.
🌟 Achievements
- Distribution of vegetable seeds to households.
- Adoption of climate‑smart irrigation systems.
- Women trained in composting and nursery establishment.
- Repair work initiated on the filtration plant to restore community access to clean water.
⚠️ Challenges
- Limited fencing leading to livestock intrusion in kitchen gardens.
- Need for continuous supply of quality seeds and drip kits.
- Technical gaps in filtration plant maintenance.
Following problems are being faced by the residents of killi Haroon: 1. clean drinking water is not available, because the water is salted.
✅ Recommendations
- Strengthen fencing for household plots.
- Provide refresher trainings on HEIS maintenance and pest management.
- Facilitate women‑led farmer groups to share experiences.
- Ensure regular monitoring and maintenance of the filtration plant.
Following suggestion: 1. Kitchen Gardening setup, if established then food chain will be improved at household level. Two vegetable i.e Behindi and Bangan can easily be grown. Fodder too can easily be grown. 2. If assistance is provided in planting Date Trees, then they can do good business. The Sardar is willing to lend his land if Date Trees are provided for women to plant and do business. 3. If picking and packing training is provided, then they can improve their income by packing the dates and improve marketing. 4. Since their livelihood depends mostly on the livestock therefore training should be provided.
In Killi Naseebullah, women in the community meeting suggested that if RBWRP emphasize on practical solution then it will bring immediate change in the life of community, because due to the polluted water women and children remain sick most of the time. There are two solutions, one is that pipeline is laid for clean water supply of 7kms from Haji Qadir Bux Tubewell to Killi Naseebullah. Second solution is to repair the filtration plant. The repair estimate of which is Pkr. 568,000/- and 493,000/-.
📢 Conclusion
The September 2025 Taftan visit highlighted the importance of kitchen gardening and safe drinking water for community resilience. By repairing the filtration plant and supporting households with climate‑smart agriculture practices, RBWRP is reinforcing food security, water conservation, and women’s empowerment in Balochistan.
